Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

What percentage of people are eligible to vote? Have the witnesses ever considered providing for automatic registration at 18 years of age, in respect of which the individual would have the option to opt-out? The current system is inefficient. We need to energise and exercise as many people as possible to vote in a democracy. We need a mechanism to bring people to the table. I hope that between now and 15 March 2019, the Department will do everything possible to encourage people to register because the local and European elections are coming up. With the rise of digital media, the Department has not only its website but Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on to encourage people to register. The current system, in terms of application, is inefficient and unattractive to young people. I say that as a mother of a 19, 21 and 27 year old, who without parental push and shove might not have bothered to register. The Department must do everything it can to encourage individuals to register and to inform them on why they should do so. It should also try to reach those who may feel disenfranchised. Not everyone has sufficient information to want to register. The Department must use all mechanisms available to it to encourage people to register such that we can have a strong democracy.

In our earlier session I mentioned Seanad reform and the implementation group's report. Has the Department considered the group's proposed changes to the electoral system? For example, in terms of the proposed new electoral commission, could this work be incorporated into the work of the new commission or should it be separate? The cost of a commission was also mentioned. The witnesses in our earlier session referenced a budget for research conducted between 2002 and 2007. Could funding be made available to support evidence-based research to help in the years ahead in order that people would have access to independent information to help them in their deliberations in terms of upcoming elections?